The novel, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton and the theme “the deepest love is often hidden”. Theme is the main message carried throughout a story or novel. The novel The Outsiders is about the three Curtis brothers, Dally (the oldest), Sodapop a.k.a. “Soda” (the middle), and Ponyboy (the youngest) and their friends who are all Greasers and their rival gang the Socs. The theme of “The deepest love is often hidden” is influential in S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders, and in real life. This theme “the deepest love is often hidden” is especially influential in the novel because it effects the way the characters handle Johnny’s death and how they act afterward. For example, Johnny tells Ponyboy, “stay gold Ponyboy...stay gold” (148) meaning for him